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CONTENTS

SWIMMING WORLD BIWEEKLY JUNE 2022 | ISSUE 12

008 RANKING THE TOP 10 WOMEN’S PERFORMANCES FROM WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS by David Rieder The swimming competition at the 19th World Championships, July 18-25, in Budapest, Hungary produced a wide range of world champions—from 15-year-old breakout star Summer McIntosh of Canada to Sweden’s 28-year-old Sarah Sjostrom winning a gold medal at a sixth different edition of Worlds. 010 RANKING THE TOP 10 MEN’S PERFORMANCES FROM WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS by David Rieder Eight days of competition at the FINA World Championships in Budapest included impressive efforts throughout, and a pair of swims on the men’s side resulted in individual world records.

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE 19th FINA WORLD SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS (Budapest, Hungary):

016 GREGORIO PALTRINIERI AND ITALY CONTINUE TO ELEVATE GLOBAL PRESENCE by John Lohn

017 SUMMER McINTOSH HAS OFFICIALLY ARRIVED; NOW POINTING TOWARD GREATNESS by John Lohn

020 SARAH SJOSTROM CLAIMS SECOND WORLD CROWN IN 50 FREE & FOURTH STRAIGHT MEDAL by Liz Byrnes

022 DAVID POPOVICI, KRISTOF MILAK POSE RARE THREATS TO CAELEB DRESSEL DOMINANCE by David Rieder

023 CAELEB DRESSEL WITHDRAWAL LEAVES HOLE AT WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS by David Rieder

024 KATIE LEDECKY PULLS AWAY FROM SUMMER McINTOSH TO RETAKE 400 FREE WORLD TITLE by David Rieder

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026 KATIE LEDECKY ANNIHILATES FIELD FOR ANOTHER 1500 FREESTYLE TITLE; KATIE GRIMES COMPLETES U.S. 1-2 by David Rieder

028 KATIE LEDECKY WINS 800 FREE, FIRST TO WIN 5 STRAIGHT WORLD TITLES by Matthew DeGeorge

030 TORRI HUSKE’S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS PUT HER IN ELITE COMPANY by Matthew DeGeorge

032 FLORIAN WELLBROCK, ANA MARCELA CUNHA CLAIM 5K GOLD MEDALS by David Rieder

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034 LEON MARCHAND THREATENS MICHAEL PHELPS’ WORLD RECORD EN ROUTE TO 400 IM GOLD by Matthew DeGeorge

036 PARTING SHOT

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INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENTS Americas: Matthew De George (USA) Africa: Chaker Belhadj (TUN) Australia: Wayne Goldsmith, Ian Hanson Europe: Norbert Agh (HUN), Liz Byrnes (GBR), Camillo Cametti (ITA), Oene Rusticus (NED), Rokur Jakupsstovu (FAR) Japan: Hideki Mochizuki Middle East: Baruch “Buky” Chass, Ph.D. (ISR) South Africa: Neville Smith (RSA) South America: Jorge Aguado (ARG) PHOTOGRAPHERS/SWTV

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On The Cover: Leon Marchand | Photo by Andrea Staccioli / Deepbluemedia / Insidefoto

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[ Photo Courtesy: Andrea Staccioli / Deepbluemedia / Insidefoto ]

>> Katie Ledecky

Ranking the Top 10 Women’s Performances from World Championships by David Rieder

e have reached the conclusion of the eight-day pool swimming slate at the World Championships in Budapest, and the week produced a pair of individual men’s world records and another in the mixed relay as well as a wide range of world champions, from 15-year-old breakout star Summer McIntosh to 28-year-old Sarah Sjostrom winning a gold medal at a sixth different edition of the World Championships. Sure, there will be plenty more elite racing this year, and Worlds was missing a handful of the usual suspects, but this was the best stretch of 2022 without a doubt. With a brief lull in major competition approaching before the Commonwealth Games and European Championships later in the summer, let’s evaluate the best performances from Budapest, beginning with the women’s side. This list will include 10 performances, with a swimmer only eligible to make the list for one swim. As usual, these rankings between different events is subjective, and our pre-meet expectations will influence how we make sense of each performance. 1. Katie Ledecky, USA 800 Freestyle Relay Split (1:53.67) There was no doubt that Katie Ledecky would be the female swimmer of the meet as she was the only swimmer in Budapest to leave with three individual gold medals. Ledecky was brilliant throughout the meet as she won gold medals in the 400, 800 and 1500 freestyle, and her 800-meter gold was the most historic swim of the week as she won her fifth consecutive world title to extend her decade of dominance in the race. In each race, she swam faster than she has in years. 8

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But let’s be honest: there was little doubt that Ledecky would capture gold in any of her individual races. There is no one in the world closer to her in the 800 free, and 400 free worldrecord holder Ariarne Titmus was absent. So Ledecky makes the list for her split in the 800 free relay, where she split 1:53.67 to vault the Americans from third place to first by more than a second. Ledecky has played a key role for the U.S. in that event for a decade, and the majority of those swims have resulted in gold medals, but this was the fastest split of Ledecky’s career and the thirdfastest 200-meter split ever. Moreover, the Americans were by no means favored for gold here, and missing the podium was a realistic possibility. But Ledecky, combined with Claire Weinstein, Leah Smith and a stunning 1:54.60 anchor split from Bella Sims, secured gold. 2. Alex Walsh, USA 200 IM (2:07.13) At the U.S. International Team Trials, Alex Walsh established herself as the world-title favorite in the 200 IM as she broke 2:08 for the first time, and she topped herself by obliterating the field in the event at the World Championships. It sounds cliché, but Walsh truly has no weaknesses in the event. She was ahead after the butterfly leg and did not let star backstroker Kaylee McKeown cut into the deficit on backstroke. By the end of the breaststroke leg, Walsh was 1.38 seconds ahead, and gold was secure. She dropped a second-and-a-half from her silver-medal winning performance at the Tokyo Olympics, and her time of 2:07.13 made Walsh the fifth-

the likes of Hali Flickinger, Zhang Yufei and Regan Smith. Her final time of 2:05.20 was a new world junior record and quick enough to make McIntosh the 12th-fastest performer in history.

fastest performer ever in the event, while the time was the 10th-fastest effort all-time (the quickest since 2016). This 20-year-old is undoubtedly the name to circle in the shorter medley event moving forward.

>> Torri Huske

100 Butterfly (55.64) In her Olympic debut last year, Torri Huske narrowly missed the Olympic podium in the 100 butterfly, but at this World Championships, she showed poise and confidence as she stormed to her first world title in the event. The field was weaker than in Tokyo with Olympic medalists Maggie Mac Neil and Emma McKeon out, and Zhang Yufei was not at her best, but Huske lowered the American record and finished less than two tenths off the world record as she secured gold. That swim came at the beginning of a meet where Huske took an enormous step forward overall. She established herself as the premier U.S. 100 freestyler while earning a bronze medal in that event. She was key in four medal-winning relays, two of them golden. But it was this 100 fly that was a crowning achievement in her career thus far. 5. Sarah Sjostrom, Sweden

[ Photo Courtesy: Giorgio Scala / Deepbluemedia / Insidefoto ]

3. Summer McIntosh, Canada

[ Photo Courtesy: Andrea Staccioli / Deepbluemedia / Insidefoto ]

>> Alex Walsh

[ Photo Courtesy: Andrea Staccioli / Deepbluemedia / Insidefoto ]

4. Torri Huske, USA

>> Summer McIntosh

200 Butterfly (2:05.20) Three female swimmers won multiple individual gold medals in Budapest. Two of those three are already among the greatest swimmers in history, Katie Ledecky and Sarah Sjostrom, while the third was 15-year-old Canadian Summer McIntosh. McIntosh was deemed a rising star in 2021 as she placed fourth in the 400 freestyle at the Tokyo Olympics, but she showed off her wide range of talents with four medals in Budapest: silver in the 400 free, gold in the 200 butterfly, bronze in the 800 free relay and gold again in the 400 IM. McIntosh was considered a favorite in the 400 IM after swimming under 4:30 earlier this year, and she entered with a shot in the 200 fly as well, but she would be facing off against three veterans who won Olympic medals in the event last year. But McIntosh took over the lead at the 150-meter mark and pulled away to win by more than a second — against

>> Sarah Sjostrom

50 Freestyle (23.98) After an Olympic year marred by injury, Sarah Sjostrom was back to being the best 50-meter swimmer in the world this year. She did not compete until the fifth day of the World Championships, but the back half of the meet belonged to this 28-year-old veteran. Sjostrom took silver in the 100 free and won her fourth consecutive world title in the 50 fly. Finally, Continued >>

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6. Mollie O’Callaghan, Australia 100 Freestyle (52.67) Mollie O’Callaghan was a prelims relay star at the Tokyo Olympics, and she was rewarded for those efforts with two gold medals and a bronze, but she made huge strides in 2022 as she masterfully took over the spot as the world’s premier 100 freestyler. Consider who was missing for Australia: Emma McKeon, Cate Campbell and Bronte Campbell, all world or Olympic champions in this distance, and all part of a world-record setting effort in the 400 freestyle relay last year. In Budapest, O’Callaghan swam the leadoff leg to keep the 400 free relay title in Aussie hands, and she won the individual 100 free crown after turning in last place but storming through the field on the second 50. O’Callaghan also anchored Australia to gold in the mixed 400 free relay and won three silver medals (200 free, mixed 400 medley relay, women’s 400 medley relay) — and she is only 18 years old. Not bad for a World Championships debut.

[ Photo Courtesy: Andrea Staccioli / Deepbluemedia / Insidefoto ]

7. Ruta Meilutyte, Lithuania

>> Ruta Meilutyte

50 Breaststroke (29.70) It was 10 years ago that 15-year-old Lithuanian Ruta Meilutyte stunned the world by claiming Olympic gold in the the 100 breaststroke in London. Meilutyte broke world records a year later, and she remained a solid performer on the world stage for a while longer, but she retired in 2019 and was later suspended for missing anti-doping tests while in the process of retiring. But once that suspension expired, Meilutyte decided to return to swimming, and at age 25, she is a world champion yet again. She came really close to winning gold in the 100 breast, finishing less than a tenth behind winner 10

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Benedetta Pilato and claiming bronze, and then she turned the tables and secured gold in the 50 breast. The gold medal was her first at a major international competition since 2013 — when she was 16. Now, Meilutyte is 25, and her comeback success story has been astounding. 8. Katie Grimes, USA

>> Katie Grimes

[ Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick ]

she finished the meet by winning the second world title of her career in the 50 free, her mark of 23.98 two tenths clear of the field. No, she did not approach her 2017 world record of 23.67, but consider that Sjostrom has now won world titles at six separate editions of the World Championships, spanning 13 years. She is favored to break Michael Phelps’ mark for individual medals at the World Championships at next year’s Worlds in Fukuoka.

400 IM (4:32.67) You could make a case for Katie Grimes as the most impressive performer of the meet who did not win a gold medal. That’s because Grimes had two individual swims, and both resulted in silver medals. She came in behind teammate Katie Ledecky in the women’s 1500 freestyle, and then she touched just six tenths behind Summer McIntosh in the 400 IM to secure another silver. Grimes was mostly known for her distance freestyle entering this year, but she won the 400 IM at the U.S. International Team Trials and then dropped three seconds off her best time in Budapest. Gold medalist Summer McIntosh is an elite freestyler (one of only four women in history to break 4:00 in the event), but Grimes was running her down on the last 100 meters of the IM. The 16-year-old from Las Vegas has a promising future in the distance freestyle events and the 400 IM, and she’s actually not done in Budapest yet: she is scheduled to race the 10-kilometer open water event Wednesday. 9. Kaylee McKeown, Australia/Phoebe Bacon, USA, 200 Backstroke (2:05.08 & 2:05.12) The best race for gold in a women’s event came in the 200 backstroke final, so let’s give props to both swimmers in the hunt. The favorite was 20-year-old Australian Kaylee McKeown, the Olympic gold medalist in the event last year, while the upstart was 19-year-old American Phoebe Bacon, who improved to No. 6 in history in this event at the U.S. International Team Trials in April. Bacon used a gutsy effort in this race in hopes of pulling off an upset, while McKeown had to dig deep to come back and claim the world title. Bacon blasted ahead on the second 50 and never faded on the back

end, but McKeown had just enough finishing speed to get her fingertips to the wall ahead, 2:05.08 to 2:05.12. Credit to both for outstanding efforts in this final. 10. Penny Oleksiak, Canada Mixed 400 Freestyle Relay Split (52.11) Penny Oleksiak did not win any individual medals in Budapest, but she anchored four Canadian relays, and all of them reached the podium. In both the women’s 400 freestyle relay and mixed 400 freestyle relay, Oleksiak’s closing splits were the difference in Canada earning silver medals ahead of the United States, and she secured bronze medals with her anchor legs on the 800 free and 400 medley relays. She rounds out this list of top performances in recognition of

[ Photo Courtesy: Swimming Canada / Ian MacNicol ]

[ Photo Courtesy: Andrea Staccioli / Deepbluemedia / Insidefoto ]

>> Kaylee McKeown

>> Penny Oleksiak

her sizzling 52.11 split on the mixed relay, where Oleksiak dove in a quarter-second behind American anchor Claire Curzan but blasted ahead on the final length. Six years after Oleksiak, then 16, tied for Olympic gold in the 100 free, she has developed into a clutch performer on relays for a Canadian team in the midst of perhaps its best stretch, and she now has nine World Championship medals in her career, surpassing former distance star Ryan Cochrane as the most successful Canadian swimmer in the history of the FINA World Championships. «

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[ Photo Courtesy: Andrea Staccioli / Deepbluemedia / Insidefoto ]

>> Leon Marchand

Ranking the Top 10 Men’s Performances from World Championships by David Rieder

ight days of competition at the FINA World Championships in Budapest included impressive efforts throughout, and a pair of swims on the men’s side resulted in individual world records. With some time to look back on the proceedings in Budapest, we already ranked the top 10 women’s swims of the competition, and now we will examine the best of the men’s competition. 1. Leon Marchand, France 400 IM (4:04.28) On the first night in Budapest, a 20-year-old from Toulouse, France, unleashed perhaps the finest individual medley performance in a decade. Leon Marchand had a breakout year after moving to the United States to work with coach Bob Bowman at Arizona State University, and he immediately translated his collegiate success to the world stage. In his first swim in Budapest, Marchand qualified fastest for the 400 IM final, and after trailing American Carson Foster at the halfway point, Marchand exploded on the breaststroke with a stunning 1:07.28 split. That put him more than a second under world-record pace with 100 meters to go, and that’s no slouch world record – it’s Michael Phelps’ 4:03.84 from the Beijing Olympics, the oldest mark on the books. Marchand could not match Phelps’ freestyle, but he still finished in 4:04.28, the second-fastest time ever. In one swim, Marchand surpassed all the other recent greats in this race:

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Ryan Lochte, Chase Kalisz, Kosuke Hagino, Daiya Seto and Laszlo Cseh. Foster swam a best time by almost two seconds, and he finished in an elite time of 4:06.56, and he was still two seconds behind. Marchand went on to post an enormous meet, with a silver medal in the 200 butterfly and a second gold in the 200 IM, but this one stands out as his best of the week and the best by any swimmer all week.

>> Thomas Ceccon

2. Thomas Ceccon, Italy 100 Backstroke (51.60 WR) Thomas Ceccon was on the radar for the 100 backstroke coming off an impressive Olympic debut last year, where he placed fourth in this event. He swam a lifetime-best mark of

[ Photo Courtesy: Andrea Staccioli / Deepbluemedia / Insidefoto ]

[ Photo Courtesy: Giorgio Scala / Deepbluemedia / Insidefoto ]

52.12 in the semifinals, but that was not even a hint of what he would unleash in the final. Ceccon was second to the halfway point behind world-record holder Ryan Murphy, and then he sizzled down the back stretch with a 26.46 split. He pulled clearly into gold-medal position, and he touched in 51.60, dropping a quarter-second off Murphy’s world record, which had stood since 2016. Murphy claimed silver in that race with his fastest time in four years, so the American was thrilled with his own performance, but he could only nod in respect for Ceccon and his incredible, record-breaking performance.

>> Gregorio Paltrinieri

>> Kristof Milak

3. Kristof Milak, Hungary 200 Butterfly (1:50.34) It was not the sub-1:50 performance that many believed Kristof Milak could produce, but the 22-year-old recorded the most dominant swim of the meet as he provided an absolute thrill for his home fans in Hungary. Milak was an enormous favorite in the 200 butterfly, so far ahead of the field that his semifinal time, over a second-and-a-half off his best, would still have won gold by almost a second. In the final, Milak went out under world-record pace right away, and he was a second quicker than his own 2019 form at the 100 and 150-meter marks. Yes, 1:49 was within reach, but he tightened up somewhat on the way home. Still, the result was a gold medal and a breathtaking time of 1:50.34, more than a second faster than Michael Phelps ever swam during his legendary career. Milak would also add gold in the 100 fly later in the meet. 4. Gregorio Paltrinieri, Italy 1500 Freestyle (14:32.80) Before this race, Gregorio Paltrinieri was the second-fastest man in history in the 1500 freestyle and the European-record holder. His collection of honors in this event included medals at the last four World Championships, including gold in 2015 and 2017, as well as an Olympic title in 2016. But the 27-year-old entered the final having already placed fourth in the 800 free, and he barely qualified for the 1500-meter final as the seventh-seeded swimmer. But Paltrinieri flipped a

switch and became his old dominant self as he took the lead and stretched it out to more than six seconds. He was two seconds under world-record pace It made sense that he would eventually fade, but he never did until the last 50, when the superimposed world-record line caught him. Still,Paltrinieri’s time was 14:32.80, the second-quickest swim ever and enough to win another gold medal by nearly four seconds.

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>> David Popovici >> Bobby Finke

5. David Popovici, Romania 200 Freestyle (1:43.21) It’s been less than a year since teenager David Popovici burst onto the scene and instantly became a contender to win an Olympic medal, and after coming a fingertip short of the Tokyo podium, Popovici has elevated himself one more level. Popovici, now 17, set a world junior record in the 200 free semifinals (1:44.40), and he instantly became the man to beat in the final. It was clear he was capable of something very special. Olympic gold medalist Tom Dean was the early pace-setter, but Popovici then clobbered the field on the third and fourth laps, swimming away for gold. He finished in 1:43.21, another world junior record, and the swim placed him in the company of greatness. He was now the fourthfastest performer all-time behind only suit-aided swims from Paul Biedermann and Michael Phelps and the textile-best of 1:43.14 from Yannick Agnel in 2012. Given his age and his improvement curve, could he threaten the long-untouchable world record before long? Popovici also put himself within striking distance of a record in the 100 free after swimming a time of 47.13 in the semifinals. and he backed that up by winning gold a day later. 6. Elijah Winnington Australia, 400 Freestyle (3:41.22) Perhaps you forgot about this effort by Elijah Winnington in the men’s 400 freestyle. That would make sense, honestly. It was the very first finals race of the World Championships. But one year after Winnington arrived at his first Olympics as the top-ranked swimmer in the world but failed to win a medal, this 22-year-old Australian produced a masterful performance in Budapest. In the 400 free final, Winnington led for the first half of the race before Germany’s Lukas Martens took over on the third 100, but Winnington battled back. He trailed by two tenths with 50 meters to go, but then he annihilated the final 50 meters with a 26.50 split, good enough to not only move ahead but win by 1.63 seconds. Winnington touched in 3:41.22, the fastest time recorded 14

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7. Bobby Finke, USA 800 Freestyle (7:39.36) He stunned the world by pulling off a pair of distance freestyle gold medals at the Tokyo Olympics, but this time, everyone saw Bobby Finke coming. Yes, he was in fourth place with 50 meters to go in the 800 freestyle final, more than a second off the lead, but the trio of Mykhailo Romanchuk, Florian Wellbrock and Gregorio Paltrinieri hardly felt safe with that margin. Indeed, Finke fired off a 25.93 finishing split, and while Wellbrock tried to pick up his tempo and stay close, he could not hold off Finke at the finish as the American secured the world title in 7:39.36, crushing his own American record and making Finke the seventh-fastest swimmer in history. Finke could not repeat his heroics in the 1500 free, but it took Paltrinieri swimming well under world-record pace and building a six-second lead over Finke to provide enough cushion. Still, Finke showed off his finishing speed in the 30-lap race by running down Wellbrock and securing silver in 14:36.70, taking down Connor Jaeger’s American record. 8. Nicolo Martinenghi, Italy 400 Medley Relay Split (57.47) Nicolo Martinenghi could have been done for the World Championships after he upset Arno Kamminga for the world title in the 100 breaststroke, and the meet would have been a success. Martinenghi added another individual medal as he placed second in the 50 breast, just three hundredths behind Nic Fink, but it was not until the final day when Martinenghi led Italy to one of the country’s finest moments ever in swimming. The Italians edged out the Americans for gold in the men’s 400 medley relay with a team of Thomas Ceccon, Martinenghi, Federico Burdisso and Alessandro Miressi. Italy required a big lead at the halfway point to have a shot at gold, Martinenghi came through with a 57.47 split, the fastest in history by any man not named Adam Peaty, and four tenths faster than Fink’s split on the same leg. That gave Burdisso and Miressi just enough cushion to be able to finish

[ Photo Courtesy: Giorgio Scala / Deepbluemedia / Insidefoto ]

[ Photo Courtesy: Andrea Staccioli / Deepbluemedia / Insidefoto ]

in a decade and good enough to make him the fifth-fastest performer in history behind Paul Biedermann, Ian Thorpe, Sun Yang and Ous Mellouli.

[ Photo Courtesy: Andrea Staccioli / Deepbluemedia / Insidefoto ]

0.28 ahead of the U.S. relay and win Italy’s first-ever World Championship gold medal in any relay.

>> Ben Proud

9. Ben Proud, Great Britain 50 Freestyle (21.32) The field in the men’s 50 freestyle opened up when Caeleb Dressel withdrew from the second half of the World Championships, and Great Britain’s Ben Proud took advantage. Proud is the fourth-fastest swimmer in history in the 50 free (and second-fastest active swimmer behind Dressel), but he had never won a medal in the event at a long course World Championships, and he tied for fifth at the Tokyo

Olympics last year. But in Budapest, Proud recalibrated his own expectations for the race with Dressel out, and he moved into the final as the gold-medal favorite after swimming a time of 21.42 in the semifinals. The next day, he lowered his mark to 21.30 as he secured a gold medal, touching a tenth ahead of American silver medalist Michael Andrew. 10. Tom Dean, Great Britain 800 Freestyle Relay Split (1:43.53) Great Britain won Olympic gold last year in the 800 freestyle relay, but Duncan Scott missed the World Championships because of challenges in his recovery from COVID-19, so a repeat performance was going to be a challenge. In fact, Britain was in fifth place for the first three legs of the 800 free relay, but that changed when Tom Dean uncorked an insane anchor split of 1:43.53, the fifth-best relay split in history, to elevate his teammates into bronze-medal position, seven tenths ahead of fourth-place Brazil, and onto the podium. Only one swimmer split within a second of Dean in the entire field (American anchor Kieran Smith). After winning Olympic gold in the 200 free and 800 free relay last year, the 20-year-old Dean captured a trio of bronze medals in Budapest, including an individual award for the 200 free and a medal for stepping into the anchor role on his country’s 400 medley relay.«

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[ Photo Courtesy: Andrea Staccioli / Deepbluemedia / Insidefoto ]

Gregorio Paltrinieri and Italy Continue To Elevate Global Presence by John Lohn

xiting last summer’s Olympic Games in Tokyo, the Italian men had defined themselves as major players on the international stage. Such was the impact of a meet in which the European nation collected five medals – including a pair in relay action – and consistently factored in the outcome of championship finals.

breaststroke, the Italians surged into the lead. Burdisson and Miressi more than capably closed out matters, leading Italy to a mark of 3:27.51. That performance was an astounding 1.66 seconds better than what the country delivered on the way to bronze at the Olympics, and tied the continental standard of Great Britain.

Still, for Italy to be regarded as having a long-term influence on global competition, it needed to produce a repeat showing. To avoid fluke status, the Italians had to at least equal, if not surpass, their Olympic success at the World Championships in Budapest. Oh, how the Green, White & Red got the job done – and with an exclamation point.

The last time the Italian men flashed this type of success was in the late 1990s and early 2000s, when the likes of Domenico Fioravanti, Massi Rosolino and Emiliano Brembilla carried the banner. This go-round, Paltrinieri can be considered the cornerstone, the guy who registered the initial breakthrough, opening the door to this current success.

Over eight days at Duna Arena, the Italians captured nine medals at the World Champs. Six of those trips to the podium were made by the country’s men, who did their job in backing up what was generated in Tokyo. Actually, the effort was more impressive, with this latest haul featuring a quartet of global crowns, the last an emphatic statement that expectations for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris are Grande.

The 2016 Olympic champion in the 1500 freestyle, Paltrinieri has enjoyed vast success in the pool and open water. And in Budapest, while younger teammates continued their rise, the 27-year-old unleashed what can be argued as the swim of the meet. As Paltrinieri won his third world title in the 1500 freestyle, he accomplished the feat via a gutsy and defining tactical approach.

If Tokyo was about learning their way to the medals stand, Budapest was about climbing it, specifically to the top step. Individually, Thomas Ceccon (100 backstroke), Gregorio Paltrinieri (1500 freestyle) and Nicolo Martinenghi (100 breaststroke) claimed world titles, Ceccon’s gold medal earned in world-record fashion.

Anyone familiar with the distance ranks knows about the closing speed of Bobby Finke. If the American is within striking distance with a lap to go, he’s going to run down the leader. He did it twice at the Olympics, and again in the 800 freestyle at the World Championships. In the 1500 freestyle, Paltrinieri did not give Finke that opportunity, as he pressed the pace from the outset and was under world-record pace throughout the 30 laps. Ultimately, Paltrinieri touched the wall in 14:32.80, a European record and the second-fastest swim in history. Couple that effort with the medley relay, and Italy left the meet with a closing flurry.

But the biggest effort came last, as the quartet of Ceccon, Martinenghi, Federico Burdisso and Alessandro Miressi equaled the European record en route to gold in the 400 medley relay. The Italians fended off the United States for that victory, and while Team USA was missing Caeleb Dressel, the combination of balance and power produced by Italy was something to behold. With Ceccon leading off in another sub-52 outing on the leadoff backstroke leg and Martinenghi splitting 57.47 for the 16

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Two years remain until the Olympics are held in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower. By that time, the Italian blueprint toward global excellence may have reaped additional accolades. What is certain, with Paris on the horizon, is that Italy has earned recognition as a considerable presence.«

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Summer McIntosh Has Officially Arrived; Now Pointing Toward Greatness by John Lohn

here have been signs of this pending emergence over the past year. Summer McIntosh was an Olympic finalist at 14 years old, narrowly off the podium in the 400 freestyle before she was entrusted with the leadoff leg of Canada’s 800 free relay. She debuted as a freestyler, but weeks after her 15th birthday, she joined the Toronto Titans of the International Swimming League as the youngest swimmer in the league, and she won five regular-season victories spanning the 400 free, 200 butterfly and 400 IM. She won an individual silver and two relay medals at the Short Course World Championships in December. March brought a pair of “are you serious?” efforts as McIntosh went 2:05.81 in the 200 fly, just off the time required to win an Olympic medal last year, and 4:29.12 in the 400 IM, almost three seconds quicker than the winning time and good enough to make the teenager the third-fastest performer in history. McIntosh loomed over the final leadup to the World Championships, her potential across a wide swath of events practically incalculable. Now, we have seen her talent on the biggest stage, against the toughest of competition — and her

swimming has lived up to the hype. McIntosh might be five years younger than any of her primary competitors and even her relay-mates on Canada’s squad, but she belongs here, among the best. In Budapest, McIntosh has already nabbed three medals, one of each color, and that’s with the event pegged as her best still to come. On day one, the Toronto-native did not let Katie Ledecky out of her sight in the 400 freestyle and her silver-medal finish made her the fourth woman in history to crack the 4:00-barrier. The storylines prior to that race focused on Ariarne Titmus breaking Ledecky’s world record in the 400 free and the non-rematch between the two with Titmus opting out of the World Championships, but in the hours after, the question was whether McIntosh, fresh off a two-second personal best, would be the favorite ahead of Titmus and Ledecky by the Paris Olympics in 2024. Such is the momentum that she has built. But that 400 free success would just be a precursor to Wednesday night, the greatest performance of her career thus far. In the 200 fly final, McIntosh sat in first place through Continued >>

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Canada’s 800 free relay, and she clobbered the other leadoff swimmers, a group that included Australian veteran Madison Wilson and 200 free bronze medalist Tang Muhan of China, by almost two seconds. McIntosh opted not to swim the individual 200 free at these Worlds, but her time of 1:54.79 was another world junior record and faster than the winning time in the individual event the day before. That split gave Canada enough of a cushion to be able to hold off China for bronze. That’s two record-breaking, medal-clinching swims in one night, but the back-to-back did not phase McIntosh. Sure, she’s young enough to be able to recover quickly, but more important is the maturity and presence of mind to successfully compartmentalize her swims. 100 meters, but she took command on the third lap, passing the top two finishers in the event from the Olympics. She pulled away and won by almost nine tenths for her first world title and a new world junior record. The time was 2:05.20, good for 12th-fastest in history.

“I still don’t really realize what I just did, to be honest,” McIntosh said. “It feels like two separate nights. I really just tried to separate the two and really just focus on them individually. I think I did that quite well and kept my brain as low as possible.”

Less than two hours later, McIntosh handled the first leg of

That’s the mentality common to all successful multi-event swimmers. That’s a sign of a swimmer capable of building the résumé necessary to climb the list of the world’s top swimmers.

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After a two-day break from racing, McIntosh was back in the pool on the final night of the World Championships to contest the 400 IM. Entering the week, that event was considered her best shot at gold after she swam a mark of 4:29.12 earlier this year, becoming just the fifth woman in history to break 4:30 earlier this year. The other four members of the sub-4:30 club have won multiple Olympic gold medals each.

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McIntosh could not quite repeat that form in Budapest, but she built a lead that stretched to more than two seconds by the 250-meter mark, and then she held off American Katie Grimes on the freestyle to secure her fourth medal of the World Championships and her second individual gold with a time of 4:32.04.

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After the race, McIntosh admitted in an interview with NBC Sports, “There’s always room for improvement on the time since I’ve been faster quite a while ago.” Well, improvement on her best time would put her in range of the world record, Katinka Hosszu’s nearly-unthinkable mark of 4:26.36 from the Rio Olympics. It’s not unrealistic that McIntosh could flirt with that mark within a year or two. Why not? So far, there has been no stopping McIntosh in her rapid rise, and it could be only a matter of time before the world junior records she has been breaking right and left turn into plain, old world records.«

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Sarah Sjostrom Claims Second World Crown in 50 Free & Fourth Straight Medal by Liz Byrnes

arah Sjostrom won the 50 freestyle for the second time as she reinforced her position as the most decorated woman in terms of individual World Championship medals. The Swede won in 23.98 to claim her 19th individual medal and 20th in total thanks to silver in the women’s 4x100m medley relay at Kazan 2015. As a result, the 28-year-old moved to within one of Michael Phelps at the helm of individual medal counts and will surely surpass the American next year in Fukuoka. It was her fourth straight medal in the event and came 24 hours after she won the 50 fly for the fourth consecutive time. Katarzyna Wasick became the first Polish woman to win a medal in the one-length event after stopping the clock at 24.18 with Meg Harris and Erika Brown tying for third. Sjostrom won her first world title at Rome 2009 and has 19 solo medals among a 20-strong total while Phelps finished his career with 20 in an overall tally of 33, including 13 relay medals. That came a year after she became European 100 butterfly champion aged 14 in Eindhoven, meaning she has been at the top table for half her life. She wasn’t alone in being a medal winner on a Sweden team populated by the likes of Therese Alshammar, herself a former 50 free champion at Shanghai 2011 and a six-time Olympian and whose partner Johan Wallberg is Sjostrom’s coach. She said:

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“I think I need a lot of time to reflect and understand how it has been possible to do that. “I think something that really helped me when I was a younger swimmer was that even if I was winning European champs, world champs, I was not the main star of the team. “We had still had some older swimmers on the team that took more of the attention. “I think that was really good for me: I think it would have been harder if I was the main star from an early age. “So I think Therese, Stefan Nystrand, Lars Frolander – they were the big stars when I came into the national team, even if I won medals. “I think that was very important: I think the team around me really protected me so that’s why I’ve been able to continue. It’s a team effort so I am not going to take all the credit myself.” Sjostrom left Budapest with gold in the 50 free and 50 fly plus silver in the 100 free, the one-length races suiting the four-time Olympic medallist. “I enjoy the training for the 50s. I could actually keep racing a lot of events, I feel like I’m physically still strong enough to do that but it’s just the process around the races – preparing for the race, everything after the race, all of this – doping control, media attention, the bus, in and out of the pool – the process around, that is the part that takes the most amount of energy for me.

“That is why I enjoy just doing three individual events because I feel I can give everything and I can really enjoy the success. “Otherwise when I do too much you feel like it’s so hard to enjoy every race because I feel like I need to start preparing for the next one all the time. “So this was a perfect schedule for me.” So too was her time cause for satisfaction. “It feels amazing. Every time I put my hand on the wall first, it means a lot to me.

“This is my first international event where I swim individual races, not just relays, and swimming with these great athletes in this final means a lot for me since they are the best in the world.” So too for Brown whose dash medal was the only individual of the five she claimed at the meet. “My goal was to come here and win a medal for USA, and to be able to do that against the best of the world is simply amazing.” «

“What can I say? It’s amazing. Three medals, it’s been a busy four days for me so I am super-happy that I’ve been able to do my fastest race in the final every time. “Every race I’ve done it’s been fastest in the final which I am very proud of.” Wasick claimed her first medal in global long-course waters at the age of 30, a little over a year after joint second with Rio 2016 champion Pernille Blume and behind Ranomi Kromowidjojo at the Europeans in the very same Duna Arena. She said: “It’s been a great final, I knew anything could happen. I was simply excited to be in the finals because moments like this maybe never come back. “I’m just trying to enjoy this moment and cherish this whole thing.” Harris left Hungary with four medals although her joint bronze in the 50 was her sole individual honour. The Australian said: “I had a massive swim in the semi-final, that was a personal best for me so once I got to the final I thought whatever happened with me, it’d be a bonus. BIWEEKLY

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Milak merely recorded a mark of 1:52.39, which was 1.62 seconds ahead of his closest competition. That mark would almost certainly be good enough for gold in the final, but Milak has his sights set on his own world record, the 1:50.73 he swam in Gwangju in 2019, and possibly the first-ever sub1:50 performance. Milak, now 22, is a virtual lock to secure gold in Tuesday’s 200 fly final in front of an adoring Hungarian crowd, and after that, he will turn his attention to half the distance. He captured Olympic silver in the 100 fly in 49.68, moving him ahead of Phelps to become the second-fastest man in history. >> David Popovici

David Popovici, Kristof Milak Pose Rare Threats to Caeleb Dressel Dominance by David Rieder

n a single race lasting less than two minutes, a 17-year-old rising star became a world champion as he recorded the quickest performance in the men’s 200 freestyle in almost a decade. Olympic champion Tom Dean held a slight lead through the first half of the World Championships final, but then David Popovici took command. The Romanian was favored for gold after setting a world junior record of 1:44.40 in the semifinals, and he followed that up with a mark of 1:43.21 in the final, a time that only Paul Biedermann, Michael Phelps and Yannick Agnel have ever surpassed. It has been a stunning rise to prominence for Popovici over the past year. He first emerged from anonymity at the European Junior Championships and the Mediterranean Games in early July 2021, and only a few weeks later, he was challenging for medals at the Olympics as the youngest man by two years in the finals of the 200 free and 100 free. He ended up just four hundredths off the podium in the 200-meter race, but the trend was clear: Popovici was coming, and the veterans had better watch out.

What do Popovici and Milak have in common entering their second individual races of the meet? Both have a chance at topping the man who has been the world’s dominant swimmer for the past five years, Caeleb Dressel. Yes, seriously. Dressel first swam in a major international final in 2016, when he placed sixth in the 100 free at the Tokyo Olympics. In his World Championships debut one year later, Dressel ended up fourth in the 50 fly, five hundredths off the podium. But since then, Dressel is undefeated in major long course finals. He won gold in each of his last three events at the 2017 Worlds before finishing four-for-four in individual swims in 2019. At the Tokyo Olympics, he won gold in the 100 free, 100 fly and 50 free, becoming just the third man (after Phelps and Mark Spitz) to win more than two individual golds at one Games. And he kicked off his Budapest Worlds by capturing gold in the 50 fly Sunday. That’s 11 consecutive finals with gold medals, but the streak is in imminent danger, and not because of Dressel underperforming. That’s just how impressive Popovici and Milak have been so far in Budapest. Popovici dropped his lifetime best in the 200 free from 1:44.68 to 1:43.21, which is an improvement of 1.47 seconds. What if he could drop half that amount in the 100 free? Well, Popovici’s lifetime best is 47.30, so dropping more than seven tenths would crush the world record of 46.91, Cesar Cielo’s mark which has stood for 13 years. This isn’t to say that Popovici will break the world record, but it’s absolutely within reason.

Now, Popovici is the king of the 200 free. He has one world title — and he’s not done in Budapest yet. He still has the 100 free to go, and he entered that event with the second-fastest seed time, 47.30.

As for Milak, he was only 0.23 behind Dressel in the 100 fly at the Olympics, and Dressel has not looked as crisp in the early going here as he did in Tokyo, when he required every bit of his world-record breaking swim (49.45) to hold off Milak.

About 90 minutes after that 200 free final came a much more low-key display of dominance in the men’s 200 butterfly semifinals. Five years ago, Kristof Milak was 17, the same age Popovici is now, when he won his first World Championships medal, a silver in the 100 fly. Two years later, Milak earned his first gold as he took down Michael Phelps’ world record in a stunning 200 fly performance. In the Budapest semifinals,

Of course, the all-time great swimmers do not yield without a fight, and Dressel is certainly in that realm. The 25-yearold is only a few days into his third World Championships, and he has already won 15 Worlds gold medals, a mark only Phelps, Ryan Lochte and Katie Ledecky have surpassed. But to hold off Popovici in the 100 free and Milak in the 100 fly this week, Dressel will need something extra special. «

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Championships coming off career-best performances at the Olympics last year but not Dressel. He took time away from serious training in the fall, but following the ISL final in early December, he returned to serious training for a six-month buildup to Worlds. And now, because of reasons outside of his control, he’s done for the meet before any of his main events.

Caeleb Dressel Withdrawal Leaves Hole at World Championships by David Rieder

rom the outside, it appeared to be a mostly normal start to the World Championships for Caeleb Dressel. Sure, he was not hitting his best times over the first two days of the meet, but he led the U.S. men to an easy win in the 400 freestyle relay, and then he grabbed his second consecutive gold medal in the 50 butterfly. After an off day from racing Monday, he swam the 100 free prelims Tuesday and qualified second before pulling out of the semifinals. Now, he’s finished for the meet and heading home. Neither Dressel nor USA Swimming has revealed specific reasons for Dressel’s departure. “He’s withdrawn for medical reasons. Super unfortunate. We support Caeleb, and for his long-term health, that’s the best decision to make today,” USA Swimming National Team managing director Lindsay Mintenko said Wednesday in Budapest. “Due to HIPPA laws in the States, I can’t be more specific, and so unfortunately, we’re just going to leave it at that. Maybe some day we’ll be able to share more.” A spokesperson for Dressel confirmed that the issue is related to a pre-existing condition and not COVID-19. Mintenko added that Dressel was “just not fit to compete right now… It’s the right decision, especially for Caeleb’s long-term health, and that’s ultimately what we’re here for, for the health of our athletes.” The appropriate response right now for swimming fans is empathy for a man who has been the sport’s dominant performer since the last edition of the World Championships in Budapest five years ago. Surely Dressel will reveal more details at a time he deems appropriate, and the timing is his decision to make. Plenty of top swimmers chose to skip these World

“It’s obviously hard,” Mintenko said. “Caeleb’s worked really hard for this. Any time you come to a World Championships or any international competition and can’t compete, it’s very difficult.” Everyone is hoping for the best for Dressel in his recovery, but the World Championships go on, so there are swimming implications to consider. The start lists for individual events are final, so just like Great Britain could not replace Duncan Scott when he withdrew from the meet due to complications in his recovery from COVID-19, the American team cannot insert a fill-in for Dressel. That’s a bummer with the thirdplace finishers from the U.S. International Team Trials in both of his remaining events already in Budapest: Trenton Julian in the 100 fly and Brooks Curry in the 50 free. Constructing relay lineups will be an added challenge without Dressel on hand to contribute his typically lights-out splits. For the mixed 400 freestyle relay, the Americans were facing a tough decision between Curry and Ryan Held for the second men’s spot, so now they will surely use both swimmers for the finals quartet. In the men’s medley relay, one of those two will handle anchor duties, while Michael Andrew is likely to step in for the butterfly leg, although Julian and Shaine Casas are also options. Fortunately for the U.S. team, the first attempt at filling in for Dressel went off without a hitch. A last-minute lineup change in the mixed 400 medley relay lineup worked out with a gold medal. In the individual events, it was a bummer for Dressel to miss the chance to face off with David Popovici in Wednesday’s 100 free final. Popovici put a scare into the world record in the semifinal round before returning to win gold in the final, adding to his earlier triumph in the 200 free. Same story in the upcoming 100 fly. After taking down his own world record on his way to gold in the 200 fly, Kristof Milak said he was hoping Dressel would return so the two swimmers could face off in a race that would be fitting and epic. Now, it will be Milak as the heavy favorite for gold and racing against the clock as he tries to run down Dressel’s world record of 49.45. But right now, real life takes priority. “Hopefully not terribly long,” Mintenko said of Dressel’s recovery. “Hopefully it’s quick, and he’ll be able to recover and be back on his feet soon.” « BIWEEKLY

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Katie Ledecky Pulls Away From Summer McIntosh to Retake 400 Free World Title by David Rieder

atie Ledecky is back on top in the women’s 400 freestyle. With Olympic gold medalist and new worldrecord holder Ariarne Titmus absent from the field, Ledecky took control over the race over the first 100 meters and never surrendered the advantage. She was challenged throughout by 15-year-old Canadian Summer McIntosh, and Ledecky’s lead was by less than a second through the first 300 meters, but she extended the advantage down the stretch on her way to gold. Ledecky finished in 3:58.15, breaking her own championship record of 3:58.34 set while winning gold at the 2017 World Championships (also in Budapest). The time was the seventhfastest performance in history, and only Titmus and Ledecky have ever been faster. Ledecky finished 1.24 seconds ahead of McIntosh, who took silver in 3:59.39, while the second American in the field, Leah Smith, earned bronze in 4:02.08. “It feels good. It’s the fastest I’ve ever been at Worlds, so I’m really happy with that and really excited about the rest of the week I have ahead of me,” Ledecky said. Over the past several years, Titmus has chipped away at Ledecky’s supremacy in the 400 free. At the 2019 World Championships, Titmus pulled off a surreal performance as she came from behind to pass Ledecky and claim gold. Two years later, Titmus won an epic showdown with Ledecky at

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the Tokyo Olympics, and just one month ago, Titmus beat Ledecky’s six-year-old world record in the event. But with Titmus skipping these Worlds to focus on the upcoming Commonwealth Games, Ledecky had the chance to get back on top, and she took advantage. “That wasn’t any added motivation,” Ledecky said of Titmus breaking the world record. “If I didn’t have motivation before that, that would be a problem. I think a lot of people are like, ‘Oh, it must motivate you more.’ But I’m always motivated. I’m always excited to see what I can do. So I’m really happy with that result.” With the swim, Ledecky earned the fourth world title of her career in the event after previously winning in 2013, 2015 and 2017 and taking silver in 2019. This title was Ledecky’s first since she left her longtime training home at Stanford University to move to Gainesville, Fla., and train with the University of Florida team under coach Anthony Nesty. After almost a decade competing at the highest level of the sport, Ledecky was willing to make changes and take chances to extend her run of dominance. The results have been impressive, and her satisfaction in the new environment has been evident. “It’s been a lot of fun. It’s just been refreshing and fun to have new teammates and new coaches and a different

With her silver, McIntosh dropped two seconds from her lifetime best, and she became just the >> Summer McIntosh, Katie Ledecky & Leah Smith fourth woman in history to break 4:00, joining Titmus, Ledecky and like another person to beat, another person to keep up to, She Federica Pellegrini. McIntosh is a star on the rise, and she always pushes me in my race to make it my best. No matter will have additional medal chances this week in the 200 who it would be I just try to think of it as another racer, even butterfly, 400 IM and 800 free relay, she called winning though it is Katie Ledecky.” her first World Championships medal “definitely one of the coolest experiences of my life.” Smith, meanwhile, touched out Australia’s Lani Pallister “I think I’ve learned so much in the past year, how to execute the 400 freestyle, and I am really happy with the way I swam it, how it felt in the water, and it has given me a lot of confidence going into the next couple of races,” McIntosh said. “I don’t think I would ever have thought I would be under 4:00 in the 400 freestyle. I remember it was a big deal for me to break five minutes! So to break the four-minute barrier is something that is really special for me.” For the majority of McIntosh’s life, Ledecky has been a constant force in the middle-distance and distance events — when Ledecky won her first Olympic gold medal in 2012, McIntosh was five years old — and McIntosh admitted that if felt strange to be swimming next to Ledecky and squaring off with world titles on the line.

(4:02.16) by just eight hundredths to claim bronze, and she finished on the podium for the third consecutive World Championships. This year has seen Smith bounce back after a disappointing 2021 when she missed making the U.S. Olympic team.

“This means a lot to me,” Smith told NBC Sports after the race. “I think that it’s just been such a long journey in my career, and this is the third Worlds that Katie and I will be on the podium together. I think it’s really special. I’ve had the time of my life swimming internationally with her.” «

It’s crazy because she is definitely one of my swimming idols – if not my main swimming idol – and to be able to race her and try and keep up with her as close as possible was such a cool experience that I never thought I would have. To see where I have made progress in the last couple of years is something that is really special and I am just really happy to have this opportunity,” McIntosh said. “I think you just have to look at it just BIWEEKLY

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perspective. And yeah, so we kind of just set out this year with the goal of making worlds and the events that I’m swimming and I’m really not setting any time goals. So just trying to improve each meet and so far I’ve done that,” Ledecky said. “I’m learning a lot of new things every day, just kind of having new training sets, new techniques. I’m working on just getting that fresh perspective from a different set of eyes and just continue to have a lot of fun and in different ways.”

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My goal was to hold 1:02s, 31-low, so that’s great,” Ledecky said in a post-race interview with NBC Sports. Informed of her record-tying 20th medal, Ledecky added, “It’s pretty wild because I feel like just yesterday I was in Barcelona at my first Worlds. It’s awesome representing Team USA year after year, and it’s an honor and a privilege, and it’s why I work hard.” As the television cameras focused on Ledecky with no one else in the picture, the battle unfolded behind her for silver between 16-year-old American Katie Grimes and 20-yearold Australian Lani Pallister. Pallister sat in second place for much of the middle portion of the race, but Grimes caught up at the 1100-meter mark and pulled away.

Katie Ledecky Annihilates Field for Another 1500 Freestyle Title; Katie Grimes Completes U.S. 1-2 by David Rieder

s soon as the swimmers dove into the pool for the 1500 freestyle final, the result was a given. After the first three of 30 lengths in the pool, Katie Ledecky was already one second ahead of the field, and she continued to pull away — just like she has over and over again in the 1500 free. Ledecky won her first world title in the event in 2013 by four seconds, and then she won by 15 seconds in 2015 and a whopping 19 seconds in 2017. Ledecky pulled out of the 1500 free final at the 2019 World Championships after dealing with illness, but this race was back to normal, with Ledecky securing a 14.74-seconds margin of victory as she touched in 15:30.15. Ledecky was about 10 seconds off her own world record of 15:20.48, which she set in May 2018, and her time was the sixth-fastest performance in history. No other swimmer has ever been faster, with Lotte Friis ranking No. 2 all-time at 15:38.88. Ledecky touched the wall and gave a quick fist-pump, clearly pleased with her effort in securing the fourth world title of her career in this event and her second gold at the meet after winning the 400 free Saturday. The gold medal was Ledecky’s 17th career World Championships gold medal, which is the most all-time among women and third-most in history behind former U.S. teammates Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte. Ledecky also won her 20th World Championship medal, tying American great Natalie Coughlin for most ever among females. “It was perfect. Well, not perfect. I never have a perfect swim.

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Grimes finished in 15:44.89, taking more than six seconds off her previous best time of 15:51.36, and she moved to ninth all-time in the event. The only Americans to ever swim faster are Ledecky, Grimes former teammate and Olympic silver medalist Erica Sullivan and two-time world champion Kate Ziegler. Pallister claimed bronze in 15:48.96, which moved her to 14th all-time in the event. When Ledecky saw that Grimes had touched second, she broke into a wide smile and reached across the lane line to congratulate her young teammate, who qualified for her first Olympic team at the same age (15) as Ledecky did. The two swimmers showed off their secret handshake that they had developed during the U.S. Olympic training camp last year. “Oh my gosh, I’m just so happy that I was able to get another medal for Team USA. I was really nervous leading up to this race, but talking to all my teammates made me really calm,” Grimes told NBC Sports after the race. “It was honestly just a relief because I really wanted to be up there with her. She’s letting us hear our national anthem, so I’m really happy to be up there with her.” Ledecky spoke in glowing terms about her teenage teammate, who captured her first-ever international medal in this event. Previously, Grimes finished fourth in the Olympic final of the 800 freestyle last year, and while she will not race the 800 free this week in Budapest, she still has the 400 IM and the 10-kilometer open water event to go. “I fully knew she [Grimes] was capable of getting that and just to see how far she has come in a year and the maturity that she has and how much energy she brings to the team, I don’t think I was like that when I was her age,” Ledecky said, according to USA Swimming. “It is just awesome to be on the blocks next to her, be in the lane next to her and to share this moment with her is really special.” Australia’s Moesha Johnson was the only other swimmer to break 16:00, finishing fourth with a time of 15:55.75. Italy’s Simona Quadarella, who captured the world title in this event in 2019 when Ledecky withdrew, ended up fifth in 16:03.84 «

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complete and unerring dominance over her rivals. Though Ledecky at times makes it look easy, that doesn’t mean it has been, and it’s taken a lot of work for her to get to the top and stay there. “Year after year it’s really hard work,” she said. “In London I won my first gold ten years ago, back then they said I was a one-hit wonder – and here we are, ten years later and I have another gold.”

Katie Ledecky Wins 800 Free, First to Win 5 Straight World Titles by Matthew DeGeorge

f anyone can understand how difficult it is to win five straight World Championships, it might just be Katie Ledecky. She won the 400 freestyle at three straight Worlds before Ariarne Titmus dethroned her in 2019. An illness then ended her bid at a four-peat in the 1,500 freestyle at that meet in Gwanju, South Korea. But in amongst that adversity, Ledecky managed to gut out a win over 1,500 champ Simona Quadarella in the 800 free and keep alive her streak of four straight titles in that event. Friday, Ledecky became the first swimmer in history to win five consecutive World Championships in the same event, positively reigning over the field in the 800 free to win in 8:08.04. “I’m happy with it. I can’t complain,” Ledecky said on the NBC broadcast. “I thought it was a little faster than that, but that’s the fastest I’ve been in a while, so really thrilled with that and really excited about the future as well.” Ledecky pulled away early and completed the quintet by nearly 11 seconds. It was Ledecky’s fifth-fastest time in the event. With her performance at International Team Trials, it’s the first two times in four years she’s been under 8:10. She now owns the 27 fastest times in the event, not counting the opening to 1,500 swims. The 800 has always been Ledecky’s baby. It was her introduction to the global scene when she won the Olympic crown in 2012 in London. She’s the three-time reigning Olympic champion in the event, and for all the talent growing around her, it’ll take something very special in the next two years to deny her a fourth gold in Paris in 2024. What that means, if you step back, is so special: For the last decade, Ledecky has had total hegemony over the 800 free,

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The win is her 19th World Championships gold medal, pushing her ahead of Ryan Lochte. Only Michael Phelps at 26 has more. Phelps (33) and Lochte (27) are the only swimmers with more total Worlds medals than Ledecky’s 22. She already passed Natalie Coughlin for the most medals for a woman at Worlds. She joins Phelps (200 fly) and Katinka Hosszu (200 IM) as five-time World Champions in the same event. Ledecky was first in prelims Thursday morning by seven seconds. The holder of the second seed, Australian Lani Pallister, withdrew from the event due to COVID-19. She had gone 8:24.66, elevating Leah Smith to the second seed and getting Viviane Jungblut of Brazil into the final. Eighth in prelims was Pallister’s countrywoman, Kiah Melverton. Melverton brought some outside smoke to pull away from the field early and nab silver in 8:18.77. That was the plan that her morning swim forced her into. “It just feels great to have this silver medal,” Melverton said. “I didn’t really know what to expect after the heats, but in the final I was on lane 1 so I know I had to go out and be as fast as I could. And the others this way might not see me.I managed to keep up a good pace and I’m really happy with this silver medal.” Third was Quadarella, holding off a late charge from Smith by just over a second. Smith finished fourth. The bronze is a measure of consolation for Quadarella, who finished a distant fifth in the 1,500. “The 1500m went very bad, I was so disappointed after that final,” she said. “But now I’m very glad with this 800m, it’s like the last year Olympics, 1500m was a disaster, then the 800m was great. I tried to focus on my own race, I started swimming easily and then catch up the others. And it worked – so I’m very happy now.” “It was a great week, probably the most fun I’ve had in a meet in a long time,” she said. “And the results showed. It’s just a really special team, and I know we’re not finished. And now I get to cheer.”«

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Torri Huske’s World Championships Put Her in Elite Company by Matthew DeGeorge

y the end of the eight days in Budapest, Torri Huske admitted she was feeling the effort.

more medals at one Worlds. That group: •

Missy Franklin, 2013 Barcelona: Gold (200 free, 100 back, 200 back, 400 free relay, 800 free relay, 400 medley relay)

•

Katie Ledecky, 2017 Budapest: Gold (400 free, 800 free, 1,500 free, 400 free relay, 800 free relay); silver (200 free)

•

Simone Manuel, 2017 Budapest: Gold (100 free, 400 free relay, 400 medley relay, 400 mixed medley relay), bronze (50 freestyle)

“Yeah, I’m pretty tired,” Huske said Saturday. “I definitely felt it on the first half of the race also and I was like that’s not supposed to be happening, but like I had so much faith in the team. I knew that I wasn’t just swimming for myself so I tried my best and it made it a lot easier knowing who I was swimming for, so I think that got me through the race.”

•

Simone Manuel, 2019 Gwangju: Gold (50 free, 100 free, 400 medley relay, 400 mixed free relay); silver (400 free relay, 800 free relay, 400 mixed medley relay)

•

Torri Huske, 2022 Budapest: Gold (100 fly, 400 medley relay, 400 mixed medley relay); bronze (100 free, 400 free relay, 400 mixed free relay)

Almost under the radar, what Huske achieved at the 2022 FINA World Championships earned a place in the pantheon of American swimming achievements. What she assembled was a performance the likes of which American swimming has rarely seen.

It’s not bad company. It obviously skews recent – you’d bet the likes of Jenny Thompson and Natalie Coughlin would be there had the array of mixed relays been available.

Four individual events and four relays will do that. Carrying around all those medals really starts to strain the back after a while. Not to mention all those extra steps up the podium and then the on-deck, post-medal processional. It seemed like Huske, still just 19, was in the water just about every session. With the way she’s swimming, that meant she was never far from a medal stand.

Huske joins a select club of American women to claim six or 30

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A couple of things stand out about Huske. She didn’t collect as much gold as the others in the club. But Manuel and Ledecky got their medals with nothing but freestyle. Huske’s

Huske is unquestionably America’s top butterflier. She set American records in the 50 fly and 100 fly. The former, a 25.38, broke a three-way tie with Kelsi Dahlia in the record spot by a tenth of a second, though Huske finished sixth. The 100 fly AR was 55.64. Per FINA’s ranking points, it was the second-best women’s swim of the meet, behind only the American 800 free relay. She also set a best time in the 100 free, just the fourth American to break 53 seconds. “It’s really amazing,” Huske said after the 100 fly. “I really don’t know how to put it into words because it’s kind of surreal. I feel like I haven’t really processed it yet. I’m just happy I went a best time more than the place. At the end of the day, I just want to see that I’m improving myself.”

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achievement is more akin to Franklin in 2013, which itself is in a group with Michael Phelps, being the preeminent practitioner of a stroke (back for Franklin, fly for Phelps) while also possessing the all-around ability to challenge in freestyle. Thompson’s fly/free hybrid might be the best comparison for Huske’s path forward; she is the first American woman to medal in the 100 fly and 100 free at the same Worlds since Thompson in 2003.

medley relay. “I think what it boils down to is what Regan (Smith) said. It’s the team. I couldn’t have done it without them and this is such an amazing group of women and men. I’m very lucky to be part of this team.”«

What makes Huske’s week in Budapest so alluring is that it wasn’t perfect. She won all those medals but also finished sixth in the 50 fly and 50 free. There’s improvement out there, and the rising sophomore at Stanford knows that. e

ferSwimmer l Sa ® Sin ce

It all comes with caveats – as does the American performance writ large. The 100 fly gold, for instance, came without reigning Olympic champion Maggie MacNeil. You can bet Sarah Sjostrom will have her say in Paris in two years. The 100 free, in which Huske won bronze, was without the Olympic gold (Emma McKeon) and silver (Siobhan Haughey) medalists. (It’s not all headwinds, though: At some point, the 28-year-old Sjostrom might loosen her grip on the sprint events, and Huske seems positioned to fill that void.)

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When the Paris Games arrive, the field will be more crowded. The competition to escape U.S. trials will be more pitched. But for now, let’s allow this accomplishment to stand for what it is: One of the best meets ever assembled by an American. That it’s a 19-year-old just cresting the wave of her immense talent is cause for even more celebration. “It means a lot,” Huske said after winning gold in the women’s

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of Paltrinieri with his time of 53:13.9. The medal was Wellbrock’s third individual gold in open water at a major competition along with previous medals in the 10k from the 2019 World Championships and 2021 Olympics.

Florian Wellbrock, Ana Marcela Cunha Claim 5K Gold Medals by David Rieder

he first individual open water events of the World Championships took place Monday, and a pair of veteran swimmers familiar to the top of the podium captured gold medals in the 5-kilometer swim. In the men’s race, Germany’s Florian Wellbrock out-swam a pair of familiar rivals from the pool, Italy’s Gregorio Paltrinieri and Ukraine’s Mykhailo Romanchuk, while 30-year-old Brazilian Ana Marcela Cunha defended her gold medal in the women’s competition as she got the best of a tight pack at the finish. In the men’s race, Romanchuk was racing in open water at a major competition for the first time, and he had the lead for much of the early portion of the race, but he could not keep pace with Paltrinieri and Wellbrock over the final kilometer. Both the Italian and the German were competing for the fourth consecutive day after prelims of the 1500 freestyle in the pool Friday, the final Saturday, the mixed open water relay Sunday and now the 5k. Paltrinieri swam the secondfastest time in history as he pulled away to a surprise gold medal in the 1500, while Romanchuk followed up silver in the 800 free and bronze in the 1500 free by anchoring Germany’s relay to gold. Here, Wellbrock edged in front of his Italian rival and continued to hold Paltrinieri at bay through the finish to secure another gold medal. Wellbrock hit the pad in 52:48.8, less than four seconds clear of Paltrinieri’s 52:52.7. Romanchuk did win bronze, more than 20 seconds back

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The second Italian in the race, Domenico Azerenza, placed fourth in 53:22.6, while 2017 world champion MarcAntoine Olivier of France ended up fifth in 53:26.0. France’s Logan Fontaine (53:43.2) and Hungary’s David Betlehem (54:22.0) finished sixth and seventh, respectively, and then there was a photo finish to determine the order of the next four competitors, who all finished within two tenths of each other after more than 54 minutes of racing. Australia’s Kyle Lee (54:28.2) ended up sixth, just ahead of the Oympic silver medalist in the 10k, Hungary’s Kristof Rasovszky, ended up ninth in 54:28.3, with Australia’s Nicholas Sloman and the USA’s Brennan Gravely ending up tied for 10th in 54:28.4. Full results of the men’s race are available here. The women’s finish was a near repeat of the 5k at the 2019 World Championships, where Cunha touched out France’s Aurelie Mueller for gold by one second. This time, the margin of victory was even closer at nine tenths, with Cunha touching in 57:52.9 and Mueller coming in at 57:53.8. But it was not just the eventual gold and silver medalists in contention as less than 10 seconds separated with top eight finishers while the top 10 were all within 16 seconds. Cunha won her second consecutive gold medal in the 5k at the World Championships, and she is also a four-time world champion in the 25k (2011, 2015, 2017 and 2019) and the winner of six other open water medals at Worlds. Mueller, meanwhile, won her seventh World Championships medal in open water (she has previously won three golds). Australia’s Moesha Johnson was the leader for most of the first half of the competition, but then the lead traded hands between Mueller, the Netherlands’ Sharon Van Rouwendaaal and Italians Giulia Gabbrielleschi and Ginevra Taddeucci. A wild finish brought Cunha into the pad first, followed by Mueller, while Gabbrielleschi took the bronze in 57:54.9, just two seconds off gold-medal pace. Fast-finishing German Leonie Beck was fourth in 57:56.2. The rest of the top 10 included Maria de Valdes (57:59.0), Taddeucci (58:00.4), Brazil’s Viviane Jungblut, Johnson (58:02.5), Germany’s Jeannette Spiwoks (58:06.2) and van Rouweneaal (58:08.9). After those swimmers, the rest of the field was almost two seconds off the pace. «

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Leon Marchand Threatens Michael Phelps’ World Record En Route to 400 IM Gold by Matthew DeGeorge

t was a matter of time before Leon Marchand unleashed an epic performance in the long-course pool, an effort that would match the excellence he flashed at the NCAA Championships in the spring. Well, that day arrived at the World Championships on Saturday, with the Frenchman producing the second-fastest swim in history in the 400-meter individual medley, not far off the world record of the legendary Michael Phelps.

Marchand still needed a defining moment in the long-course pool, and that is exactly what he delivered at the Duna Arena in Budapest.

Putting the race out of reach with a spectacular breaststroke split, Marchand captured the first world title of his career behind a time of 4:04.28. Marchand was ahead of Phelps’ world-record pace heading into the freestyle leg and while he fell just short, the fact that the 20-year-old challenged Phelps’ standard of 4:03.84 – set at the Beijing Olympics – was downright stunning. Marchand’s time is No. 2 in history, a European record and the fastest time in a textile suit.

Marchand had his hands full with Foster at the midway point, with the American actually holding the lead through the butterfly and backstroke legs. Foster turned at the 200-meter mark in 1:58.18, Marchand lurking at 1:58.66. But the French star left no doubt about the outcome of the race shortly into the breaststroke leg. Emulating Kalisz, who has been known to demoralize the field on breaststroke, Marchand surged to an insurmountable advantage and moved 1.11 seconds ahead of Phelps’ world-record pace at the 300-meter checkpoint. Marchand split 1:07.28 on the breaststroke, compared to the 1:10.32 of Foster.

The American tandem of Carson Foster and Chase Kalisz grabbed the silver and bronze medals, thanks to respective times of 4:06.56 and 4:07.47. The swim was a two-second personal best for Foster while Kalisz was two seconds quicker than the time he turned in to win gold in the event at the Olympic Games. Coached by Phelps’ mentor, Bob Bowman, Marchand has been a star-in-the-making for several years, and cemented that status at the NCAA Championships, where he won crowns for Arizona State in the 200 medley and 200 breaststroke. But 34

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“The NCAA meet is a very intense meet,” Marchand said. “I think I learned a lot about myself. I need to have fun in racing. I think that is what I did today. I am just very free in the water and able to give everything for each race.”

The pressure Marchand brought on the third 100 continued on the freestyle leg, which he covered in 58.34. That split was key, as it nearly matched the 58.06 of Foster and didn’t let the American make a move. It wasn’t until the final length in which Marchand slipped behind Phelps’ world-record pace. As a reminder, when Phelps established that global standard, it was the opening race of the 2008 Olympics, in which the all-time great went on to capture a record eight gold medals.

Marchand is the second member of his family to earn a medal at the World Championships, joining his father, Xavier. At the 1998 World Champs, the elder Marchand was the silver medalist in the 200 individual medley, placing behind the Netherlands’ Marcel Wouda.

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“It is very special because my father supports me every day,” the younger Marchand said. “He gave so much advice about swimming, about everything, so I am just very happy to bring him this medal, to keep going (with) this swimming family. “He told me very early that swimming is very hard and to be able to be at this level today, you need to train a lot. I think it’s been five or six years I am just dedicating my life to swimming, so I think that is a good gift for me and for my family because they have to wake up with me every day, bring me to practice and that is pretty cool.” When Marchand committed to compete for Arizona State, the decision united a youthful and developing talent with Bowman, the man who molded the career of Phelps and also guided – along with Jack Bauerle – the emergence of Kalisz into one of the world’s premier medley performers. Over the course of the collegiate season, Marchand routinely posted impressive performances, punctuated by Swimmer of the Meet honors at the NCAA Championships. “First, most of the credit for this swim goes to Nicolas Castel, Leon’s longtime coach in France,” Bowman told Swimming World. “He did a fantastic job of teaching him the skills, gradually introducing him to training and bringing him to the Olympic level.

For Foster, his silver medal was a key breakthrough for a guy who, like Marchand, has been surrounded by expectations since his teenage years. Last summer, Foster narrowly missed qualifying for the Olympics, but popped the top time in the world later in the summer. By reaching the podium in Budapest and clocking a best time, the University of Texas headliner has taken the next step in his career. As for Kalisz, his effort was the latest in a long line of stellar performances in the 400 medley. The 28-year-old proved that even the “older” guys can get the job done. While Kalisz was well back of Marchand and Foster through the butterfly and backstroke legs, and sitting sixth in the field, he relied on his experience and knowledge that his back half could be a gamechanger. Indeed, Kalisz made a move on the breaststroke leg, his split of 1:08.45 moving him into third. Kalisz gave chase of Foster down the stretch, his 57.68 freestyle split enabling the veteran to post one of his fastest times in several years. «

“I was very pleased with the way (Marchand) split the race and managed his energy throughout. Leon works harder than anyone else, so he deserves this swim. I’m excited to see him keep progressing.” SWIM MART As a finalist in the 400 medley at the Tokyo Olympics, Marchand’s long-course skill set has never been doubted, and a countdown of sorts was on: When will the French youngster pop a big one on the international stage? That answer was supplied in Budapest, and it bodes well for what Marchand might have in store in the 200 butterfly and 200 individual medley, events he’ll contest later in the meet.

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PARTING SHOT

KATE DOUGLASS (LEFT) AND LILLY KING SHOW VERY DIFFERENT REACTIONS AT THE CONCLUSION OF THE 200 BREASTROKE AT THE 2022 WOLRD CHAMPIONSHIPS. [ Photo Courtesy: Andrea Staccioli / Deepbluemedia / Insidefoto ]

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